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My Daughter Could Have Died Yesterday
Spread the Word – Friends Don’t Let Friends Work With Bad Clients
  March 8, 2012
Sedona, Arizona
Yesterday I decided to walk my three youngest kids down the street and get some pizza for lunch.
The town we live in is pretty small. Maybe about 10,000 people. The pace is fairly slow and the “main road” through town has a max speed limit of about 35 mph.
We’re not talking a major metropolis here.
My daughter was riding her bike and I was pushing the two little ones in our double stroller.
On an ordinary day, a trip to the pizza parlor doesn’t involve any brush with death.
Apparently, yesterday was no ordinary day.
We had pressed the button on the traffic light and started to cross when we got the go ahead.
We were about half way across the road, my daughter riding a few feet in front of me, when a white pickup truck ran right through the red light a few feet in front of us.
Had my daughter been farther ahead, she would have been hit.
Now times like these in a parent’s life are memorable because, for just a moment, you get a very clear understanding of the truly fleeting nature of life.
One minute it’s there, the next minute it may be gone.
What did I learn from this experience?
As cliched as it sounds, it reminded me to live now… in the moment.
I just got back from a few days at a business seminar. At things like that, there’s a huge amount of focus on the future.
I fall into that trap too often. Events like the one yesterday are gifts that remind me to wake up.
The future is a construct of the mind. And since it doesn’t really exist, placing energy, intent and focus there just doesn’t pay off.
What does pay off?
Living fully NOW. Living well NOW.
Events like the one yesterday remind me to stop rushing. Ultimately, we’re all headed the exact same place, so why rush?
I have no idea if today is my last day. None of us really do.
What I do know is that I need to stop chasing the future and start focusing that energy on what is right in front of me.
For me, chasing the future is a recipe for misery. I know I will never catch it. You can’t catch something that isn’t real.
Life is here, life is now.
How fully can you live it?
See you next time,
Jason Leister
Editor, The Client Letter
Creating Success for Independent Professionals
ClientsSuck.net
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